Curcuma longa (Fam. Zingiberaccae) or Turmeric is one of the oldest herbs in Ayurveda materia medica, and has been used in Ayurveda medicine internally as a stomach, tonic and blood purifier, and topically in the prevention and treatment of skin diseases. The significance of turmeric in medicine has changed considerably since the very recent discovery of the anti-oxidant properties of naturally occurring phenolic compounds. The same ground dried rhizome of Curcuma longa, which has been used for centuries as a spice, food preservative and a coloring agent, has been found to be a rich source of phenolic compounds or curcuminoids.
At the present time Turmeric is used for healing wounds, skin disorders, as a component of immunomodulators, see or example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,401,504, 5,494,668, 5,897,865 and 6,048,533.
Colorectal Cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death in the Western world. Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are at a substantially increased risk for development of Colorectal Cancer (CRC) compared with the general population. Although IBD contributes only a small proportion (less than 1%) of all new cases of CRC, 15% of all deaths in IBD patients are due to CRC, and because there is still no ideal treatment for CRC and the 5-year survival rate is low (<50%), chemoprevention has become an increasingly important consideration in IBD.
Several studies indicate that COX-2 inhibitors may prevent CRC. However, their long-term use is limited due to gastrointestinal (GI) and cardiovascular side effects. 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) (mesalamine) is an anti-inflammatory drug, see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,983; that has been extensively used in the treatment of IBD. It is well tolerated by most patients, and has limited systemic adverse effects and gastrointestinal toxicity. As chemoprevention of CRC must meet very high standards of safety and efficacy, 5-ASA has a well-established place in the management of patients suffering from IBD. Although 5-ASA is considered to be a safe drug in treatment of IBD and its adverse effects are relatively few, early reports suggest that the potential toxicity of 5-ASA should be considered, in particular during long-term treatment with 5-ASA. One of the lessons learned from cancer research in recent years is that combinatorial strategies in cancer therapy can provide dramatic improvement in safety and efficacy over monotherapy regimens, especially if the drugs differ in their mode of action. Furthermore, reduced toxicity can be achieved particularly when the combination is comprised of a commonly used dietary factor or natural herb.
There is an unmet need therefore to provide a composition useful in a therapy for IBD and CRC, which overcomes the above deficiencies, using a combination of natural ingredients.